216.73.216.233

T1102.001: T1102.001

View on MITRE ATT&CK The MITRE Corporation · Published 14/03/2020 23:24 · Modified 15/04/2026 12:25

Essential information

MITRE technique ID
T1102.001
Confidence
100/100
Revoked
No
Published
14/03/2020 23:24
Modified
15/04/2026 12:25
Author / Source
The MITRE Corporation

Aliases

Dead Drop Resolver

Platforms

windows macos linux ESXi

Description

Adversaries may use an existing, legitimate external Web service to host information that points to additional command and control (C2) infrastructure. Adversaries may post content, known as a dead drop resolver, on Web services with embedded (and often obfuscated/encoded) domains or IP addresses. Once infected, victims will reach out to and be redirected by these resolvers. Popular websites and social media acting as a mechanism for C2 may give a significant amount of cover due to the likelihood that hosts within a network are already communicating with them prior to a compromise. Using common services, such as those offered by Google or Twitter, makes it easier for adversaries to hide in expected noise. Web service providers commonly use SSL/TLS encryption, giving adversaries an added level of protection. Use of a dead drop resolver may also protect back-end C2 infrastructure from discovery through malware binary analysis while also enabling operational resiliency (since this infrastructure may be dynamically changed).

Kill chain phases

Kill chainPhase
mitre-attack command-and-control

Marking (TLP)

TLP:CLEAR Copyright 2015-2025, The MITRE Corporation. MITRE ATT&CK and ATT&CK are registered trademarks of The MITRE Corporation.

External references

Related entities

Intrusion sets, malware, reports, vulnerabilities, indicators and other entities linked to this technique.